Interesting facts about Canada's PMs

The Dominion’s first minority government

1872 — Canada’s first government narrowly survives its second test at the polls when Sir John A. Macdonald‘s Liberal-Conservative party is re-elected. Government members returned with Macdonald include John Abbott, Mackenzie Bowell and Sir Charles Tupper.

He ends up with a mere four-seat majority over the Liberals, but the election of a half-dozen independents means Macdonald is left with a minority government. It’s a predicament that hampers his ability to ignore party deserters a year later when the Pacific Scandal ultimately forces him to resign.